The Los Angeles Times talked to Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov about the future of superhero movies at the studio. We all know that Green Lantern hits this summer, followed by The Dark Knight Rises next summer and Superman in late 2012, but what will happen then? Here's several excerpts from the newspaper:

But Robinov said a new Justice League script is in the works. Also being written for Warner are scripts featuring the Flash and Wonder Woman, who could be spun off into their own movies after Justice League. Though Wonder Woman is also in the works as a television pilot for NBC produced by Warner, Robinov dismissed that as a sticking point. “Wonder Woman could be a film as well, the same way that ‘Superman Returns’ came out while ‘Smallville’ was on,” he said, referring to the 2006 film that put Brandon Routh in the cape and the television show starring Tom Welling that is now in its 10th and final season.

Robinov knows that the most bankable part of his superhero empire has been Nolan and his Gotham City films – the studio has yet to deliver a 21st century superhero blockbuster hit without Nolan in the director’s seat. Batman will continue to be a centerpiece property beyond next year’s “The Dark Knight Rises” and Nolan’s departure from the franchise. “We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”

We've asked Warner Bros. for clarification as there are no actual quotes from Robinov about the Justice League movie in the article above or in this larger profile piece, but one would assume he really did mention it.

Details on a Justice League feature film have been rapidly developing ever since the story broke yesterday that such a project was back on Warner Bros.' schedule. Now, HeyUGuys.co.uk has a further update from Superman director Zack Snyder, explaining that the ensemble film will not bear a link to either his project or to the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises.

"It doesn’t [connect]," Snyder told the site on the red carpet for the London premiere of Sucker Punch, "Like what Chris Nolan is doing and what I’m doing with 'Superman', what they’ll do with 'Justice League' will be it’s own thing with its own Batman and own Superman. We’ll be over here with our movie and they’ll kinda get to do it twice, which is kind of cool."

One key project that seems to be temporarily left out of the equation is this summer's Green Lantern which still could, foreseeably, tie-in to the nascent Justice League film. Likewise, with recent word that WB will reboot the Batman franchise following the release of The Dark Knight Rises, it's still possible that the team picture could build up through cross-released franchise entries, a la Marvel Studios' lead-in to The Avengers.

I've seen so many projects for which I had high hopes die in development Hell, as treatments pass from writer to writer and committee to committee that it's hard to get excited until there's a trailer. Just look at "Green Hornet." One of my favorite properties. How many years ago was it that George Clooney first optioned it? And it ultimately resulted in the Seth Rogen crapfest we got in January. I'll believe -- and get excited about -- "Justice League" when I see it.

Warner Bros. is making some plans towards the long-awaited Justice League feature film as Variety reports that Gangster Squad screenwriter Will Beall has been brought aboard to provide the screenplay.

Details at this point are currently few, but the enormous success of Marvel's The Avengers no doubt helped pave the way for getting the Distinguished Competition's superhero ensemble a shot at the silver screen.

What remains to be seen is whether or not Warner's film will use any of their standalone superhero projects as jumping off points, building a cohesive cinematic universe the way that Marvel has. It's been hinted that Christopher Nolan's upcoming The Dark Knight Rises will feature a definitive ending for the current version of the big screen Batman character, though Christian Bale has recently suggested that he's not entirely against the notion of further adventures in the cape and cowl.

Next summer's Man of Steel, however, marks a more likely contender to launch an ongoing big screen universe and it's entirely possible that, despite a disappointing box office, last summer's take on Green Lantern couldn't be brought back.

The other possibility is that Warner Bros. might start from scratch, as was the plan several years ago when George Miller was attached to direct a motion-capture Justice League feature.

Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:30 pmPosts: 3609Location: The Great Country of Texas!

Yep. They're certainly not going to want to cause any more confusion than they've already done.

The Marvel movie-verse is different than the regular comics - it's closer to the Ultimate stories than it is the main books. HOWEVER, the Ultimate titles have been around 15 years or so. Long enough to sink in. And they use stories from the regular universe. They coexist. With DC, I have zero preconception that they will do the same. They'll insist it be the DCNU, and it will flop because people will be confused.

It'd literally have to be the greatest movie EVER done to have any hope of success, and I just don't see that happening. Avengers worked because it was a great movie, but it also worked because Marvel took the time to build to Avengers.

I hate Ultimate Marvel... I don't mind the Marvel Movies taking some inspiration from them but I will never compare the two. The Marvel films are much better. I feel film doesn't have to emulate the page... that's what animation is for. Sure it can take inspiration and influence but that's all it should be. I think the Marvel films prove that.

As for DC... I doubt they could boil an egg at this point... let alone make a feature length big budget JLA movie. And this is the comic company who has ALWAYS had the resources to do this with their parent company, Time Warner...

For years Marvel Comics was the feature film underdog compared to DC... now the roles are reversed. Without Batman and Nolan what does DC currently have? Nada...

Even Watchmen which for me is like the DC equivalent of Marvel's Avengers and just as good... didn't even register on the movie goer charts. Which yes, I know; Watchmen is like comic book apples and oranges but still... It's just an example of the best DC/ Warner can give us.

All this... JLA, linked DC movies, a DC film universe... pipe dream. Maybe my kid will see it one day.